Radio Fax Update

On 19th September the European Commission Of Human
Rights in Strasbourg examined the admissibility of Trevor Brooks
appeal for a short wave broadcast licence. The commission
determined that notice should be given to the government of the
United Kingdom and their observations invited in regard to a
possible violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Trevor Brooks asserts that by refusing to licence an
independent short wave station, the UK government is unreasonably
and persistently stifling media development to the detriment of
the public in breach of article 10 of the European Convention Of
Human Rights. He made his first written application for a licence
for Radio Fax twelve years ago in August 1986 . (Trevor
Brooks/Surrey Electronics Ltd.)

Irish pirate radio engineer found
dead

I was told that Frank McArthy who
engineered a lot of the stations along the Irish border
(including ZEE 103 and KITS FM) was found dead outside one of the
station sites last week. Apparently he had a heart attack. Wonder
who will maintain the stations now ?

(From Gary Hogg)

Digital Shortwave Feature On Radio
Netherlands

Radio Netherlands is to do a feature on
digital shortwave in their Media Network programme next Thursday
8th October

Radio Netherlands Media Network can be
heard via the following outlets:

A group describing itself as "an international
group of friends of offshore radio" is planing a special
broadcast later this month.

Newstide is not sure exactly who these people are, but
we assume that their proposed transmission is legally authorised
by a European country, probably on a special event basis.

We reproduce their statement below:

"During the summer of 1958, the first commercial
radio station on board a ship started broadcasting off the
European coasts: RADIO MERCUR.

This station reached ten thousands of listeners in
Copenhagen and Malmö. By using the freedom of the international
waters, the monopoly of the state operated broadcasters was
shattered. Finally, RADIO MERCUR had to stop the operation.
Sooner or later, the same happened with all the other watery
wireless stations that followed the idea of operating from the
high seas.

In the years to come, there were different reasons for
their failure. But in some countries offshore radio led to
changes in media politics: Commercial radio was introduced on
shore. But strange things happened as these new local and
nationwide stations did not want to share their audience with the
offshore based competitors... An international group of friends
of offshore radio will reminisce this important part of the
European media history. There will be special non-commercial
broadcasts from a ship in the North Sea.

OFFSHORE 98 is scheduled for October 17th and 18th.

Depending on conditions, this real offshore radio
event will be audible on longwave 279 kHz
Mediumwave 1566 kHz

BBC WS German Service Threatened By
Cuts
The BBC World Service may be forced to close down the German
language service in order to meet budgetary requirements imposed
by the Government. The service has been operational for over
sixty years, and has a weekly audience of 2,100,000. The closure
would save £1,100,000 a year from the services budget.

It is understood that a total package of cuts, designed to save
around £20 million, are to be imposed, which will also include
the ending of broadcasts from London to Hungary, Nepal,
Portuguese-Africa and Slovakia.

(Ray Woodward BDXC)

Offshore Station.
An international group describing themselves as "friends of
offshore radio" will reminisce the 40th anniversary of the
first European offshore radio broadcasts by Radio Mercur off
Denmark with a special non-commercial broadcast from a ship in
the North Sea. "OFFSHORE 98" is scheduled for October
17th and 18th. Depending on conditions, the station will be
audible on longwave 279 kHz, mediumwave 1566 kHz and shortwave
6210 kHz. (Ray Woodward BDXC)

DX Information from the British DX Club.

Also from the pages of Issue 338 of the Radio Magazine
comes news that a 'MANSFIELD 103.2FM' is due to commence
programming this autumn. Presumably this is the new name/ident.
and frequency of Radio Mansfield in Nottinghamshire ..?

I guess they got the *old* Leicester Sound channel ...

(Ray Woodward BDXC)

DX Information from the British DX Club.

HF Interference threat from mains
digital data transmissions

rom Ronald Easey BDXC

Hi All,

Did you see the small article in this months SW mag
Decode section about plans to use the mains wiring system to
transmit data. Apparantly a 1mHz data stream would be used on top
of the mains signal. As Mike
Richards pointed out this would cause harmonics over the HF
spectrum and what about the signals being radiated from every
vertical street light, a very worrying thought I'm sure you will
agree. There seems to be lots of confusion amongst members of the
public me included regarding digital broadcasts TV/Sat do to
start this week. So can anyone help clear up a few points please?

Why if you decide to buy and subcribe to SKY's new
system do you need to have it connected up to a phone line?

How long before ground based TV goes all digital and
what equipment will be needed also who will be providing the
service besides the BBC. I have heard that Satelite and Ground
based systems will need a different decoder if this is true what
will the cost be?
Any info you may have would be welcome as would any pointers as
to where further info might be found ie web sites etc. (Ronald
Easey BDXC)

Jam AM Hull. 1575 Khz.23/09/98

UK: Jam AM 1575 Hhz, Hull, was due to return to the
air 23/9/98 for the start of new student term. (Student Union via
John Williams)

Confirm that JAM 1575 is loud and clear across
this area. Same playlist as in June, but I expect that will
change in next few days as freshers come in and want to play at
radio.

North Derbyshire's new ILR station, Peak 107, launches
on Wednesday 7 October> at 0800. Frequency 107.4.
Test transmissions start any day. Jingles from Jam.
Studios at Sheep Bridge Industrial Estate in Chesterfield.
Phone number 01246 269107. Test transmissions have started this
morning, Tuesday 22/09/98. I've just been listening on my way to
Bolsover where I have retuned the radio at work. It's good to
hear the familiar voice of Dave Kilner who I listened to on Radio
Hallam many years ago. Music heard so far from Simply Red,
Madonna, Elton John, Roxette and the Spice Girls.The address is
:- Peak 107FM, Radio House, Foxwood Road, CHESTERFIELD. S41 9RF

The above address is in an industrial estate to the
north of Chesterfield next to the A61 Dronfield Bypass, the main
Chesterfield to Sheffield road. The studios still seem to be
under construction but aerials have now appeared on the roof
pointing towards the transmission site above the village of
Unstone. There appears to be a web site under development at http://www.peak107.co.uk
Robert Collis, Chesterfield 123 Preservation Group, Chesterfield,
Derbyshire.

For the third time this year UKRD Group Ltd, has been
part of a consortium awarded another licence by the Radio
Authority - this time for a radio station which will broadcast to
over a quarter of a million adults in Oldham and the surrounding
area north-east of Manchester.

The radio station will be jointly owned by UKRD Group
and the Oldham Evening Chronicle which will each own 42.1% of the
company. The Oldham Chamber of Commerce will own 15.8%. The
application for the licence was masterminded by UKRD Group's
radio consultancy arm, Infinity Radio Ltd - both companies are
based at Dolphin House in North Street, Guildford.

The win in Oldham follows earlier radio licence wins
this year in Gloucestershire and South East London. In November
last year the group also won a licence to broadcast to East
London - that radio station went on air in May. UKRD Group
already owns three radio stations Surrey, two in Hampshire, one
in the Westcountry, and one in Berkshire. It also has investments
in other radio-related companies. Last year it sold minority
interests in radio stations in Manchester and Yorkshire, netting
£5.3 million which it promised it would be earmarking to invest
in other radio licences.

Chief Executive of UKRD Group and the County Sound
Radio Network, Mike Powell, said: 'This is yet more excellent
news for our company and its talented team. We have built a
terrific portfolio of radio stations over the last six years and
we have many more projects in the pipeline.' ENDS

(Further information from Mike Powell on 01483 306156)

(It is understood that since the above was released,
the Oldham Chamber of Trade ownership has been reduced to 5%)
Judging from the above, we may well see more UKRD involvement in
small-scale commercial licences soon ...

(Ray Woodward BDXC)

IOM Long Wave Licence 23/09/98

The Isle of Man government has finally advertised for
applicants to run a 500Kw longwave radio station from the island.

Readers of Newstide and it's predecessors will know
that this advertisment is the latest stage in a campaign to
establish a new longwave station on the island - a campaign that
has been running since 1993. The advertisment warns that
applicants will be expected to go through the normal planning and
enviromental impact assesment process with regards to the
establishment of the considerably extensive transmission site and
tower needed for the broadcasts, and notes that planning
permission will not be automatically granted. A requirement to
broadcast on reduced power at night is also noted.

The station will transmit on a frequency of 270Khz,
and should be heard clearly over most of the UK. Bids are
expected from The Isle of Man International Broadcasting Company,
United Christian Broadcasters, and a "Radio Caroline"
(but this is NOT the Peter Moore official Radio Caroline - but
another group using the name!) http://www.newstide.com/radio/

Currently (2220 UTC) hearing a weak relay of UCB on
1593 kHz with rather distorted audio - parallel much stronger
Kaliningrad 1386 kHz. Presumably this is one of the so-called
"Russian licensed frequencies" they are testing from
their unlicensed transmitter installation somewhere in the Rep of
Ireland...(Dave Kenny BDXC)

Finally heard UCB on 549 kHz this morning (for the
first time - normally I have a German station on that channel
even during daytime). I assume they must have either added
another site or increased power, still hear the German quite
plainly underneath it though.Nothing like I remember the likes of
Sunshine or Nova in their heyday (Still at least it can be heard
now in this part of the world (30 miles N. of Manchester) SIO 323
[AR 7030 150ft long wire]Heard 1593 last night at 20:00 UTC -
fighting it out with the likes ofthe VOA. VOA having very much
the better of things. Have to be honest, I can't really see
either channel from unlicensed Irish based senders being adequate
replacement for Kaliningrad 1386 ...(Ray
Woodward BDXC)

Also Richard Wier from West Kirby,Wirral reports good
reception of UCB on 549 via the R Netherlands answerline. (ed)

DX Information from the British DX Club. (18/09/98)

The Radio magazine reports an RSL will operate in the
Hertford area nextmonth (as a trial service in preparation for
the full time licence [due for advertisement in January].

Radio Hertford will operate on 107.1 MHz from a
transmitter in "Bengeo" from October 10th to
25th.(Ray Woodward BDXC)

DX Information from the British DX Club.(18/09/98)

The local Meridian TV programme " A Walk Through
History" this evening visited the Isle of Sheppey.Anoraks
will be delighted to hear that the programme included a trip to
the Caroline ship moored off Sheerness and included interviews
with present day DJ's and a look round the ship. It must
have been recorded relatively recently, since it included an ID
for Merlin Network One
I managed to catch some of the programme on video, and might be
prepared to lend this to anyone that is interested. Please
e-mail me if you are.(Mark Hattam BDXC)

New Radio Australia Home Page(18/09/98)

Radio Australia since 13-Sep-98 has a new home page
and it's a lot better than the old one. It can be found at:

An item on "Tomorrow's World" (17/9/98)
reported that the British Antarctic Survey have discovered
another phenomena which is most likely to be caused by so called
"global warming". Apparently, the ionosphere, one of
the lower layers of the earth's atmosphere and of course very
significant in propogation terms, is falling. Studies show
that it may have sung up to 8 Km in the past 30-odd years.

I am not an expert on this, but presumably, the lower
the level of the ionosphere, the lower is going to be the angle
of any signals reflected from it. This would surely mean
that the effective distance travelled by signals going to be a
bit lower?

Maybe it should encourage a few more of us not to get
into our cars unnecessarily, if it leads to decreased propogation
distances spoiling our hobby! I would be very interested if
anyone has any other comments on this, or more scientific
knowledge of it.

(Mark Savage BDXC)

Broadcast Magazine feature on pirate radio(18/09/98)

The 4th September edition of "Broadcast" is
carrying a special feature on the resurgence of pirate
radio. The back cover of the present edition shows a
tantalising glimpse of a pirateophile website, but it wasn't
possible to read the URL. Maybe the article will reveal
more, although EMAP the publishers of "Broadcast" would
be treading on dodgy ground I would have thought by publishing
too much identifying info on present operators.

Anoraks unable to obtain a copy of the mag from the
usual outlets, should be able to find a copy in most major
libraries. (Mark Savage BDXC)

DX Information from the British DX Club (11/09)

RSL station 2BR. (Two Boroughs Radio.) 107.5

'2BR' has now commenced test transmissions of
"library music" on 107.5 MHz MONO without RDS. First
noted from switch on at 18:10 BST Friday Sept. 11th

(DX Information from Ray Woodward, British DX
Club. 9 September 1998)

Radio Netherlands Long Wave Service

Plans for a high power long wave station covering the UK from
Holland have taken a step nearer with the formal approval being
given for a long wave station located off the Dutch coast The new
proposal is fro two 1300 foot high masts to be built on a man
made island about 15 miles off Walcheran, near the Belgian
border. Transmissions of a new station Delta Radio on 171 Khz.
longwave will use a two megawatt transmitter to be supplied by
Thomcast of France.

The original plan, rejected by the local council, was to use
four masts at a site a Koowijk near Appledorn in the east of
Holland, which would have given an effective power of over 8
million watts but as the new site offshore will have only a short
stretch of sea between it and the target market, London and South
East England, less masts will be needed to achieve the strong
signal coverage. The signal has to be directional to protect an
existing user on the Baltic Coast, Bolshkova Kaliningrad, which
means using at least two masts.

However, there are there are still several technical hurdles
to be overcome, as the very strong signals could cause some
problems to shipping in the busy Dover Straites.

( Paul Ruisling. Radio Magazine via BDXC-UK)

RADIO AUTHORITY FINES MEDWAY FM (4/9/98)

At their most recent meeting (3 September), Members of the
Radio Authority decided to impose a fine of £5,000 on Medway FM,
which broadcasts to the Medway Towns in Kent. Medway FM has been
fined for intentionally adjusting the power of its transmitter,
on two separate occasions, significantly above the level which is
specified in its licence. Members also decided to require the
licensee to pay the Authoritys costs of £60 which were
incurred when it investigated the breaches.

Commenting on the fine, the Chairman of the Authority, Sir
Peter Gibbings said, "Unauthorised power adjustments can
have serious implications for other users of the spectrum. In
this particular case, Medway FMs frequency, 107.9 MHz, is
directly adjacent to the aeronautical navigational frequencies,
from 108 MHz upwards. These frequencies are used to guide
aircraft towards their destination airfield.

The Authority will not tolerate licensees intentionally
increasing their power levels above their licensed limits. We
will not hesitate to take appropriate action when such breaches
occur."

(Radio Authority via Ray Woodward British Dx Club)

DX Information from the British DX Club. 7/9/98

LOCAL RADIO LICENCE FOR COLERAINE TO BE ADVERTISED
AFRESH

The Radio Authority announced today that, after considering
the

proposals submitted by the two applicants, Catch FM (Mr.
Trevor Smyth) and Causeway Coast Radio Ltd., it has decided not
to offer the new Independent Local Radio licence on the FM (VHF)
waveband for the Coleraine area to either applicant.

The Authority was unable to satisfy itself with regard to the
requirements of section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990. In
particular, the Members of the Authority were not able to make an
assessment under subsections (b) and (c) of section 105 because
the programming proposals submitted by both applicants lacked
sufficient clarity, and would not have enabled a promise of
performance to be drawn up, thereby securing the character of the
service. In particular, the Authority considered the music
proposals were unworkable, and plans for local news provision
were vague.

The licence will be advertised afresh before the end of this
year.

(Radio Authority via Ray Woodward British DX Club)

Wire FM 107.2. Warrington

Wire FM has now started regular
transmissions on 107.2. Their official launch date was September
1st. 1998. Tel: 01925 445545

The new north west regional station Century FM begun
test transmissions on Tuesday 4th August (presumably from Winter
Hill). The official starting date was September 8th and the line
up includes the controversial late night phone- in man, Scottie
McClue (2200-0100 weekdays) and also an afternoon phone in with
Derek Hatton 1300-1400 weekdays).

Name change for Picadilly Gold. Manchester and also
Red Rose Gold

Picadilly Gold is to change
it's name to Magic 1152 and Red Rose Gold will become Magic 999
This is to bring it them line with the other EMAP owned 'Magic'
stations.

(Alan Gale, British DX Club)

DAB Radios Launched

Five DAB radios will soon be available in the UK.
However, initial units will cost a staggering 500 to 13-00 Pounds
Sterling. and are so large and power hungry that they have to be
fitted in the boot of a car. The DAB consortium claims better
choice and better quality reception, but in reality, DAB is
likely to offer far less stations than most of us can receive on
a conventional AM and FM receiver and sound quality will, in the
majority of listening situations, be no better than FM - in some
respects it will be inferior.

Also, DAB transmitter coverage is likely to be limited
to main population centres with many parts of the country unable
to receive any DAB signals for many years. Should any of this
tempt you, these are the receivers that have so far been
announced.

There was only one application for the National
Digital Multiplex advertised by the Radio Authority. The
applicant, Digital One Ltd. a consortium of GWR, NTL, and Talk
Radio UK, is planning to offer ten services.:

Classic FM- Simulcast of
existing services

Talk Radio Simulcast of
existing services

Virgin Radio Simulcast of
existing services

Classic Gold Rock Hits an
popular classic rock album tracks from the 60's to today.

Soft AC Female based service
with adult contemporary music Teen and Chart Hits Mainstream
chart hits

A more economical option would be an add-on PC card
for DAB . Alan C. from CFM
tells me there will eventually be a PC card on the market which
will retail at around 100 Pounds Sterling.

I would assume that this card will utilise the
existing digital to analog converters in your sound card, which
would account for the low cost. However, the audio quality may be
restricted by any limitations of your sound card.

(ed)

DX Information from the British DX Club

RTE masts breach radiation limits

Two AM transmission sites used by RTE have been found to be
exceeding international guidelines in relation to emissions of
non-ionising radiation by a Government regulator engaged in
surveying all radio and telecommunications masts in the Republic
of Ireland.

The world standard upper level for such emissions is 87
volts per metre.

The transmission complex at Athlone, site of RTE's earliest
broadcasts in the 1930s, was measured at 120 volts per metre,
while the Tullamore transmitter was more than 6 times over the
limit, at 530 volts per metre.

RTE has taken action to prevent the public from straying
into the high- radiation area, by means of new warning-signs and
fencing. A spokesman said that the emissions would have
"little effect on human health".

In the past Athlone always broadcast the 500Kw RTE Radio 1
signal on 567Khz, while Tullamore was the site of the 250Kw RTE
2FM signal on 612Khz. However, on a recent visit to the sites (in
June 1998) Newstide noted that 612 was coming from Athlone, and
567 from Tullamore.

The Radio Authority (RA) chief executive, Tony Stoller, has
told the Birmingham Radio Festival how the Authority plans to
make the award of radio licences a more open and transparent
procedure.

Following criticisms from some figures in the industry,
from the Autumn the RA will make public its reasons for the
choice of successful applicants for independent local radio (ILR)
licences. Currently the reasons for granting the award to one
group over another are not announced.

However, Stoller has decided not to release details of why
applicants were not successful as this could be potentially
damaging to the groups involved.

As part of this move toward 'openness' the Authority will
also release technical data relating to broadcasters' licences
and applications. Both of these new procedures will be in play
when the RA starts an eight year re-advertisement of all 223
commercial ILR licences in the country.

The promise of performance, which determines what format a
station must take, is also to be reassessed by the RA in order to
preserve the essential character of a station without becoming
bogged down in details. A consultation on this change will begin
in the Summer.

After a year long experiment, the RA will also begin to
issue long-term, low powered AM licences to be used by student
and hospital radio services, and other non-commercial
organisations. Stoller said: "It is rare for a regulator to
be in a position to announce five major initiatives at the same
time, all of which go to the heart of the system. However, this
is a measure of the determination of the Radio Authority to
continue to facilitate the growth and health of independent radio
on the widest front."

The RA has also launched its own website which can be
accessed at http://www.radioauthority.org.uk/.

The Radiocommunications Agency has released the 1998
Edition of the "Strategy Document for the future use of the
Radio Spectrum in the UK".

This document provides updated thinking on how the radio
spectrum, between 9 kHz and 105 GHz, will be managed into the
21st century and is designed as a living document. It takes
account of several major developments; the passing of the
Wireless Telegraphy Act 1998, the establishment of the UK
Spectrum Strategy Committee, the 1997 World Radio Conference. The
document also discusses the outcome from a programme of demand
studies. Barbara Roche, Minister for Small Firms, Trade and
Industry, says in the document Foreword:

"Radio contributes 1.8% of GDP and is creating 1000
new jobs a week, therefore a coherent and dynamic strategy
towards managing the radio spectrum is virtually important. Our
policies are intended to ensure that these figures can continue
to grow in the future.

"This fourth edition of the strategy document follows
on from recent important issues facing users such as the
introduction of UMTS, digital broadcasting and spectrum pricing.
The document continues the ongoing dialogue with users. I hope
you will read it and wish to comment on it".

Notes for Editors

1. The Radiocommunications Agency, an Executive Agency of
the Department of Trade and Industry, manages most of the radio
spectrum available for civilian purposes in the UK. Agency
publications including the UK Spectrum Strategy are available
from:-

The Information and Library Service Radiocommunications
Agency New King's Beam House 22 Upper Ground London SE1 9SA

Most Agency publications, including the UK Spectrum
Strategy, are available on a single copy basis free of charge.
The 1998 Edition of the UK Spectrum Strategy has the full title
"Strategy for the future use of the Radio Spectrum in the
UK".

2. The UK Spectrum Strategy document contains almost
two-hundred pages of detailed tables covering the whole spectrum
from 9 kHz to 105 GHz by sector and by radio frequency. These set
out issues and strategies relevant to particular frequency ranges
and include Spectrum Management Objectives for each sector.

3. An increasing selection of publications are available on
the Agency Internet Site. The 1998 Edition of the UK Spectrum
Strategy is now available.

4. For further information about radio matters contact the
Agency's Switchboard/Telephone Enquiry Point Service on 0171 211
0211. The Enquiry Point Service is available from 08.30 a.m.
until 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) and
there is also a 24 hour "tone pad" document retrieval
service available on the same number, 0171 211 0211.

Reports from Holland (Hans Knot) indicate that the
radioship Communicator is about to be sold for scrap. The ship is
currently used as a transmission base by radio station QFM, who
no longer need it. The owners visited the ship last week along
with a number of other people to make arrangements for the
transmitters, generators and other equipment to be stripped out
and sold off. Once this is done it is believed that the ship will
be sold to a scrap-broker in Haarlem, and broken up.

The MV Communicator is an important part of offshore and
British radio history - it was from this ship that Laser 558
broadcast in 1984/5, quickly gaining an audience of millions, and
causing great concern among ILR stations in the South East.

Liverpool's ILR Stations,
Radio City and Magic 1548 are to move from their existing studios
in Stanley Street, to new studios at St Johns Beacon in
Liverpool's city centre. This will make it the highest radio
station in the UK.

(BBC Radio Merseyside
News 2/07/98)

St. Johns Beacon, built in the late 60's was
originally built as land mark and revolving restaurant, but the
building has not been in regular use since the 1980's.It
will also be a good location for their outside broadcast antennae.(Ed)

Pirate Radio Broadcaster
Convicted

DTI Press Release - 25 June 1998

From Andy Barrett

Keithley Fitzroy Bryan, of Upton Road, Edmonton, London,
has been convicted of operating an unauthorised broadcast radio
station contrary to section 1(1) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act
1949. The illegal 'Station FM' covered North East London.

He was sentenced by Wood Green Crown Court, on June 24, to
240 hours Community Service and was ordered to pay costs of
£5000. His studio apparatus, which included tape decks, a CD
player, audio mixer, records, cellular telephone, microphones,
headphones, assorted cassettes, stereo amplifier plus transmitter
modulator, was ordered forfeit by the Court.

Notes to Editors - Unlicensed Broadcasting

1.The Radiocommunications Agency, an Executive Agency of
the Department of Trade and Industry, is responsible for managing
civil use of the radio spectrum.

2.Unlicensed broadcasters appropriate radio frequencies
without regard for authorised users. Such unplanned use results
in interference to the reception of authorised broadcasting
stations. The poor technical quality of the equipment used by the
unlicensed stations can also result in interference to other
radio users, including that of the aeronautical and emergency
services.

3.In 1997 the Agency successfully prosecuted 41 people
arising from their involvement with unlicensed broadcasting
stations. Average fines, where imposed, were £272 and average
costs awarded to the Agency were f339. The courts can also order
all equipment to be forfeited. The Agency also carried out 820
raids on 169 unlicensed broadcasting stations. 707 of the raids
were on 109 stations in the London area.

4.There are over 200 licensed independent broadcasting
stations in the United Kingdom. Broadcasting licenses are issued
by the Radio Authority, Holbrooke House, 14 Great Queen Street,
London, WC2B SDS.

Long Wave Radio Atlantic 252. But For How Much Longer ?
/ Talk Radio Latest

An Irish emigrants group is seeking to use the Republic's
constitution to bring an end to the broadcasts of long-wave radio
station Atlantic 252.

The group, representing emigrants in the UK, is lobbying
the Irish Government in an effort to persuade state broadcaster
RTE to buy the 80% of Atlantic 252 that is for sale, and use it
to relay the programmes of RTE Radio 1 to the Irish in the UK.
The emigrants claim that under the Irish constitution, Irish
people living abroad are still considered part of the nation, and
therefore RTE has a duty to provide programming that they can
easily listen to.

Another cloud on the station's future is the fact that it's
licence expires next year, and as yet there has been no public
announcment of it's renewal. The IRTC, which regulates Irish
commercial radio, is itself at the end of it's term, though it's
not clear how much control they would have over the future of
Atlantic in any case, as being part-owned by RTE, the long-wave
station could be regulated directly by the government.

As a profit-making station, it is likely that the Irish
will decide to renew the licence and would not seek to have it
converted into an "RTE Overseas Service" which would
have a much harder time raising advertising revenue. Meanwhile US
groups JACOR and Disney have emerged as potential purchasers of
the Atlantic 252.

Talk Radio UK

CLT have not yet given any indication of how they would
like to dispose of their share - all attention is currently
concentrated on the battle for Talk Radio, which is being bid for
by Kelvin McKenzie/News International, and station managerment
led by Paul Robinson. Prospects of a management buyout of Talk
moved closer this week when it emerged that CLT has given
Robinson extra time to prepare the bid. http://www.newstide.com/radio/

Silver FM 87.7

Silver FM have been airing test transmissions on 87.7 MHz.
Heard last night (27/06)and throughout today.

The Radio Authority have advertised a new licence for
Doncaster which is expected to cover between 175,000 and 225,000
adults aged 15+. The closing date for applications is Tuesday
October 6th, and a non- refundable application fee of £750 is
payable. At least four groups are known to be bidding for this
licence, all of whom have run RSLs in the area in the last couple
of years. Only One Applicant for National Digital Multiplex .

At yesterday's closing date (23/6) there was, as expected,
only one applicant for the new DAB national digital multiplex.
The applicant, Digital One Ltd, is a consortium of GWR Digital
Radio Ltd (57%), NTL Digital Radio Ltd (33%), and Talk Radio UK
Ltd(10%). The company is proposing to broadcast a total of ten
programme services being:

Classic FM - simulcast of existing service.

Virgin Radio - simulcast of existing service.

Talk Radio - simulcast of existing service.

Classic Gold Rock - hits and most popular classic
rock album tracks from 60s to today (to be provided by NTL
Digital Radio Ltd.)

Soft AC - female-biased service playing a wide range
of adult contemporary music. (Provider to be decided)

Teen & Chart Hits - mainstream chart hits of
today and last few years.

(To be provided by GWR), The above are 24 hour services. In
addition the following will be broadcast for part of the day:

Digital One hopes to achieve 69% population coverage at
launch and 85% coverage of the population of Great Britain by the
end of the third year of operation. (N. Ireland is excluded from
this multiplex.) The company aims to work with retailers and
manufacturers to promote the acquisition of digital radio
receivers and to achieve penetration of 40% of households by
2009.

Radio London (Big L) will be broadcasting on the Merlin One
network (shortwave on three wave bands) from August 1998 using
BBC World Service frequincies.Shows will out between 6pm [1700
UT] and mid night [2300 UT] on Saturday nights only.Radio London
will be broadcasting its usual 1960s programme format from the
studios of EAP (East Anglian Productions) in Frinton-on Sea ,
Essex.

ALSO:The Radio London name and the Radio London jingles have
been licenced to Harlow (Essex) businessman Nick Jeffery who has
obtained an RSL licence from the Radio Authority and will be
broadcasting from Harlow from 4th July to 31st July on 87.7 FM.
Radio London merchandise will be avaliable from Nick's shop at 7,
Corner House, Harlow, Essex..

Caroline has been logged on 1503 from 15th June. It is said to
be coming from the Sheppey area of Kent. Their signal is said to
be weaker than on previous RSL's. According to Dave Kenny
of the British DX club, it is recievable in Caversham
also.

It has also been logged by a Medium Wave Circle member
in The Netherlands

A Dutch organisation has dropped plans to use the RADIO
CAROLINE callsign for a new low-pwered station in Holland. The
planned station has also delayed its start date.

You might be interested to know about a special 4 day RSL
broadcast taking place on 1566 kHz AM during the first week of
July.

RADIO CAVELL 1566AM will be on air for 24 hours
a day from the Royal Oldham Hospital in Oldham, Lancashire from
the 2nd to the 5th of July with a special broadcast to celebrate
the 50th Anniversary of the start of the UK's National Health
Service.

Broadcasts will be from the same studios and transmitter site
that were previously used for Radio Latics, The Voice of Oldham,
Heartbeat Radio, VJ Day Radio etc. and radiated power will be
approximately 1 watt erp. Hopefully, and unless Radio Eviva go
and make a surprise return again, the frequency should provide
very good reception for overseas dxers.

You can find out more information about this station (and some
of our previous broadcasts!) at the following website:

Raceday Radio on 1602Khz from York racecourse is
on air race for meetings.

CSR (Formerly Calderdale Sound) 1575 AM has been
logged testing

For the benefit of our overseas members (and the 'German Firm'
who will no doubt be interested) Calderdale Sound are located in
the town of Todmorden in West Yorkshire, and this is
approximately 22km west of where the Bradford RSL stations -
Bantam, Touchdown, ALR etc. are located. I don't have an address
for this station yet, but I'll listen out for one when they come
on air.

Interesting that they should choose a MW broadcast after 6
successful FM broadcasts. Something I suspect may be connected
with the possible 'sallie' licence to be offered to the Burnley
area (not far from Calderdale, and the same group ran the
previous RSLs there (2BR)!). A MW transmitter could easily cover
this very hilly and fairly rural terrain covering both areas far
easier than one (or several) FM transmitters. Maybe we'll
see more RSL broadcasts on MW here, and perhaps one day a full
time one.

The Radio Authority has announced that the North/North West
London local FM licence, originally due to be advertised this
month, has been deferred until the autumn. At present they are
"wholly confident of the availability of one FM
frequency" but believe that they have "been able to
identify a second frequency suitable for parts of North London,
albeit on an interference-limited basis".

Asian Sound Radio

Another UK based ILR Asian language radio operator is set to
join Sunrise Radio in covering Europe via Astra [19.2 deg. east]
analogue satellite capacity.

Asian Sound Radio serving [allegedly] East Lancashire on 963
and 1377 KHz medium wave is to commence operation via Astra [19.2
deg. east] from early July.

Parameters :

Astra 1B Transponder 26 (Disney Channel) [11.597 GHz Vertical]

Asian Sound Radio - 7.38 MHz audio subcarrier

Indeed I have received unconfirmed reports that *some*
sporadic tests have already been made.

Ascot Race Day Radio is on 1602 kHz this week to cover the
Royal Ascot meeting at Ascot Racecourse, Berks. Heard with test
tape at 0845 prior to start of service 0930 Tuesday 16th to
Friday 19th June, 1030-1830 Saturday 20th June. (times BST)

Fourteen applications have been received for the
possible four new licences in the Solent area of Southern
England.

They are:

Central Hampshire Radio Ltd. 01264 720275. 'A broadly
popular service, intelligently presented, of tuneful music from
the 60s to the present day, with news, information for
Winchester, Eastleigh and Chandlers Ford..'

Harbour Radio Ltd. 01705 379481. 'A colourful and
popular radio service featuring substantial amounts of news,
information and feature material supported by familiar and high
quality music with wide appeal but particualarly attractive to an
audience aged 25-44 living in Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant.'

Hope FM 01202 780396. Part of the Bournemouth YMCA
will provide an entertaining mix of news, information and popular
speech of strong local relevance with a positive (Christian)
message for Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and surrounding
areas.

Max FM Ltd. 01703 222122. A full service radio station
for Southampton. 'Greatest variety of hits from the 70s, 80s and
90s and today's best new music', combined with truly local news
and information. The NRG (Bournemouth) Ltd. 01202 474222.
'Rythmic Contemporary hit radio with a high proportion of dance
and soul music for Poole, Bournemouth and surrounding areas.

Poole FM (Purbeck Radio Ltd). 01929 422905. A
predominately music based station playing the classic hits from
the 60s to today, with a high level of local news and information
to reflect the lifestyle of the residents of Poole. Southampton
City Radio Ltd. 01703 233774. A proudly 'Southampton centered'
service of local news, views, information and entertainment mixed
with mainstream music.

The South's MIX FM (South Dorset Radio Ltd). 01202
777724. 'Young and vibrant music-led radio for Bournemouth and
Poole, with a commitment to comprehensive news, information and
interactive features.

Splash! FM (Radio Southampton Ltd). 01703 814928. A
quality inforamtion station with great music for all the family,
for Southampton, Eastleigh and the Waterside.

V107 (Vanguard Radio Ltd). 01703 631973. 'A local
station playing familiar hits from the past 35 years and current
chart songs of adult appeal, together with the local news and
information which will make V107 an esential part of life in
Havant.' Verwood Radio (Mr Stephen Saville). 01202 787740. 'A
truly local station providing a sophisticated classic soft rock
music format and substantial free airtime access to all areas of
the local community of Verwood.

Victory FM Ltd. 01705 358853. A full service radio
station for Greater Portsmouth. Broad mix of easy listening and
popular music, with programmes catering for specialist music
tastes. Voyager FM Ltd. 01489 570779. A lively, broad appeal
service of popular music and speech with a wide range of
community information by day and a music led youth service every
evening for Southampton and Eastleigh.

WIN 107 FM (Winchester Independent Radio Ltd). 01962
626400. A strong mix of local news,information and popular music
for Winchester and surrounding area. The Authority hopes to award
the licences towards the end of the year. Public Interest Test
For NE Manchester Licence

107.1 BFM Ltd who have applied for the N/E Manchester
SALLIE licence currently being offered by the Authority are to be
subject to a public interest test, due to BFM being owned by
Independent Radio Group who also have two other FM stations in
the vicinity. Under the provisions of the 1996 Broadcasting Act
no company can own three overlapping services unless the proposed
arrangement can be shown not to be acting against the public
interest.

According to this weeks Radio Magazine there were seven
applications : 107.1 [BFM Ltd] - Bolton/Bury Knight FM [ETR Ltd]
- Borough of Tameside and surroundings Oldham FM Ltd - Oldham
Metropoliotan Borough and surroundings Pioneer FM [MRH Ltd] -
Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood Tame 107 [Hits Radio Ltd] -
Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, the town of Glossop and
surrounding area Tower FM Ltd - Bolton/Bury Variety 107 FM Ltd -
Bolton/Bury My sympathies to all at The Voice of Oldham, who
failed to get their application in on time due to a major
computer crash loosing large chunks of required data for the
application

Well CSR1575 has now indeed started programming, not had a
reply [as yet] to my e-mail though I did get an on-air name check
in the opening hour :-) According to on-air announcements the
switch to medium wave is to allow for a trial of an AM service
prior to their application for a fulltime service to the area
later in the year.

So it looks increasingly likely that the 'Burnley' ILR service
(due to be advertised in December) will be a medium wave service
ala Yorkshire Dales radio and Asian Sound Radio. In which case
[presumeably] two MF channels will be used - a low frequency
medium wave [main] service together with a second lower powered
[supplimental] channel at the high frequency end of the band
(possibly even 1575 KHz ?). I assume (subject to confirmation)
that the forthcoming '2BR' RSL (last I heard slated to be from
October 17th for 28days) will also use a medium wave channel.
Maybe at the low frequency end of the band

170 Watt RSL !

The Radio Authority have banned for 1 year a Leeds based
RSL group (RAMADHAM RADIO LEEDS) from holding RSL licences after
they were found to be operating their last RSL with a TX power of
170watts [they were legally authorised for 10watts].

The ban expires on January 31st 1999 - exactly 1 year after
the end of their last RSL service.

New Long Wave service for the Isle Of Man

279 Khz Long Wavehas now been given
clearance internationally by the UK on behalf of the Isle of Man.
Clearance is for a maximum daytime transmitter power of 500 Kw.,
dropping to just 10Kw. at night . although the IOM Communications
Commission is understood to be appealing against the night-time
limit.

No licence has yet been advertised, although
several groups have expressed an interest,including : Paul
Ruisling's Isle Of Man Broadcasting Company, Radio Caroline, and
United Christian Broadcasters. It seems likely that the franchise
will be awarded to a service which benefits the island in some
way. (Alan McKellar, David Duckworth, Ray Woodward, BDXC)

SOUTH MANCHESTER LICENCE

According to this weeks Radio Magazine there were seven
applications :.

107.1 [BFM Ltd] - Bolton/Bury.

Knight FM [ETR Ltd] - Borough of Tameside and
surroundings.

Oldham FM Ltd - Oldham Metropoliotan Borough and
surroundings.

Pioneer FM [MRH Ltd] - Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood.

Tame 107 [Hits Radio Ltd] - Metropolitan Borough of
Tameside, the town of Glossop and surrounding area.

Tower FM Ltd - Bolton/Bury.

Variety 107 FM Ltd - Bolton/Bury.

My sympathies to all at The Voice of Oldham, who failed to get
their application in on time due to a major computer crash losing
large chunks of required data for the application

Possibly the worst ever radio station is currently
broadcasting in Hull...and I mean it....the station is the
University station "Siren FM"....not in parallel with
Jam 999..Jam 999 is bad, but listenable....Siren is awful...why a
university needs two stations anyway is confuzing...but Siren
seems to be home for impressionists (bad ones at that) to present
shows as "Celebreties" (It gets worse)...so we have
breakfast with Smash and Nice......and the evening show is
presented by the "Ab Fab crew".....All the
Jingles.....the "Celebrety presenters" etc all say this
is "Siren FM 87.7"....but curiously they are on
106.8......strange?????

don;t know when this came, or when it'll go but it is the
biggest example of bad radio ever.....come back radio
Cracker......

The Radio Authority has awarded a number small-scale FM local
licences in the Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and
Derbyshire areas. After considering four proposals for the
Independent Local Radio (ILR) licence in Gloucestershire, the
following two groups have been chosen:

Cheltenham Radio Ltd. (Graham Gilbert, 01242 699
555): local news, information and the best-selling songs, 24
hours a day, from the only radio station exclusively for North
Gloucestershire, serving the boroughs of Cheltenham and
Tewkesbury.

Easy FM (5 Valleys Radio Ltd.) (Mike Ganley,
01453 759 576): to serve the Mid-Gloucestershire community -
Stroud, Dursley and surrounding towns and villages - with a
locally based and locally originated full service radio station.

The award of the FM licence to Cheltenham Radio is conditional
upon the group surrendering its current AM licence in order that
the station can be transferred to an FM licence and broadcast.

Nottinghamshire And Derbyshire

For the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire areas the Authority
considered the proposals of eight applicants and has awarded the
FM ILR licences to the following three groups:

Radio Mansfield (Alex McKie, 01623 646 666): a
lively music-led station, with a highly-focused local news,
current affairs and information service for the people of
Mansfield, the Ashfields and neighbouring communities.

Peak 197 FM (Wayne Chadwick, 01433 631 352): a
modern, vibrant, full service local radio station, providing
24-hour entertainment and information for the people of
Chesterfield and district.

Bradford RSL station Adult Learners Radio currently booming in
here in Reading (2130 UTC Friday 16/5) on 1566 kHz. Announcing as
"ALR 1566 live from the BCB studios". Amazing
signal for one watt approx 160 miles! BCB also operated the
Bradford City FC station Bantams 1566 and may also carry
programming for Bradford Rugby League Club during matches for the
remainder of the season - 29 May, 12 and 18 July, 2 August - also
on 1566 kHz. The address for reports is: BCB, 2 Forster Square,
Bradford BD1 1DQ.

(Dave Kenny British DX Club)

BBC World Service in
Cardiff on FM for EU Summit

Listeners in Cardiff and delegates attending the
European Union Summit will be able to hear BBC World Service on
FM 24 hours a day from June 10 to June 17 1998.

The special service on 103.9 FM will feature World
Service English output including programmes from the EU Summit in
Cardiff.

* The World Today - World Service's breakfast
news programme - will be on air for an extra hour on June 15 and
16 (from 4.30am - 8.00am) to provide extended Summit coverage, as
well as its regular mix of global and European news, features and
interviews.

* In A Question of Europe, produced for World
Service by BBC Wales, young people from around the world who are
studying in Cardiff will put prominent European leaders on the
spot in a debate chaired by Huw Edwards. The programme will
be broadcast live on Sunday, June 14 at 6.00pm, repeated at
midnight.

* The New Europe, broadcast daily (except
Sunday) at 8.15am, focuses on some of the most important issues
facing Europe over the coming years - such as the single currency
and EU enlargement - and how they will affect Europeans
everywhere. The programmes will be presented by journalists
from the World Service's 13 European language services.

* Weekend, a European magazine programme
co-produced by World Service, Radio France International, Radio
Netherlands and Deutsche Welle, will consider the impact of the
multi-media age on European business, entertainment and
conferences. The programme is broadcast on Sunday, June 14
at 8.15am.

There is extensive coverage of European issues on the
World Service website - www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/europe

Sam Younger, Managing Director, BBC World Service,
said: "The EU Summit is one of the most important
events in Britain this year and I am delighted that World Service
will be broadcasting directly into Cardiff on a special frequency
- 103.9FM. I hope that people living in the city will tune
in to sample some of our programmes."

BBC World Service has a global audience of around 140
million and broadcasts in English and 43 other languages.
Besides news, listeners in English can enjoy drama, music, a wide
range of features, youth programmes and regular coverage of the
arts, business and finance, development issues, religion, science
and technology, and sport.

Listeners throughout Wales can hear BBC World Service
programmes overnight on Radio Wales and Radio 4 and 24-hours a
day on shortwave and via the Astra satellite. They are also
available on Internet - www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice

World Radio and TV Handbook

By Andy Sennit

As many of you know, I resigned as editor of the World Radio
TV Handbook at the end of last year. The new editor is David
Bobbett, and the contact information is now as follows:

Their transmitter went off on Sat 4th
April at 2130-2313 No announcements heard.

Liverpool: Crash 107 FM is now
on 107.6, NOT 107 as predicted. They launched as sceduled on
Friday 27th March at 1:08 with Janice Long being the first voice
heard. According to the Liverpool Daily Post on Sat 28th March,
their Managing Director, Mike Gray has resigned and is being
temporarily replaced by Richard Johnson.

Their DJ line up included a dance show with
Boy George who now does club DJ 'ing. According to our sources,
they are using Liverpool Anglican Cathedral as their main
transmitter location. They have a sponsorship deal with Guinness.
For further information, keep an eye on their website www.107crashfm.com (if they ever bother to update it, that is!) They
have now changed all their web pages to just a moving logo. Maybe
they're going to update it at last !

Ray Woodwardfrom the BDXC
reports reception of Crash FM on 107.55, and that is with
an RSL, (2BR) on 107.5 in Pendle. Reception of Crash should be ok
with him when 2BR finishes on April 4th.

BDXC member Nigel Watkinson reports a
'strong but fluttery signal in Manchester from Crash.

DX Information from the British DX Club.

In rec.radio.shortwave, Kim Andrew Elliott

Voice Of America Announces 24-hour All-news Program

Washington, DC, April 28, 1998 -- The Voice of America has
announced the formation of VOA News Now, a 24-hour, all-news,
English language international radio broadcast. This will
be the first change of format in two decades.

VOA News Now will be on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, and will feature world, regional, and U.S. news, along with
features about sports, science, business, and
entertainment. The new format will be fast-paced and have
shorter news and feature segments. It will be tailored to
provide news and information to each region of the world during
its prime listening hours. The format is ideal for covering
crises since programming can be interrupted at a moment's notice
for live reports on breaking news.

"Times and technology are changing, and so must we,"
said Evelyn S. Lieberman, Director of the Voice of
America. "Emerging technologies and the explosion of
free media in many places around the world have forced us to
rethink how we serve our audience and when."

"VOA News Now will follow the sun, so that everywhere in
the world, listeners will have access to live radio news as day
breaks in their region," said Lieberman.

The inauguration of VOA News Now will not mean elimination of
some of VOA's most popular programs. To keep up with the
demands of VOA listeners, transmissions of music will be
broadcast solely via satellite in the future. VOA's popular
Special English and English teaching programs will continue in
long programming format.

The Voice of America broadcasts international, regional, and
United States news in 52 languages to an estimated weekly
audience of 83 million listeners.

Contact: Mary Ellen
Glynn
1-202-619-3375

DX Information from the British DX Club.

Tube Radio 87.7

Tube Radio has begun broadcasting on 87.7 MHz. They had been
on open carrier for the past two days, and launched into
programmes today. They're on air for 4 weeks.

Kestrel FM, the new commercial local station for Basingstoke,
was noted here in Tilehurst for the first time with test
transmissions on 107.6 MHz FM stereo this evening (6 April),
with..... birdsong! There was also a brief announcement with ID,
advising the station will start regular programmes at 0600 (BST)
on 18 May 1998.

A report in the Media section of tonight's Manchester Evening
News (1st April) says that Century Radio, who recently won the
fight for the new North West regional FM Licence, have chosen
Salford Quays as the site for their new 2.5 million pound HQ and
studio.The report said that the station will be located in Laser
House on the Waterfront Quay, which will now be re-named Century
House. Around 50 jobs are expected to be created by this move. In
the same section media section it was also reported that Variety
FM, the group that recently carried out a number of RSL
broadcasts to the Bolton area last year under the name of Variety
Gold FM, will bid for the small scale licence to cover the Bolton
and Bury areas of Greater Manchester. The station which has
backers which include the Manchester Evening News, Bolton
Wanderers and Bury Football Clubs, are currently canvassing
support for the bid from the town's residents and businesses.

(Alan Gale. British DX Club)

NEW ILR STATION FOR CAERNARFON

An ILR licence has also been awarded to Champion FM
(Marcher Sound Ltd.)which will serve the town of Caernarfon and
the surrounding area. This is one of the few remaining areas in
the UK which does not currently receive any ILR service. Around
75,000 adults should be able to receive the new service which
will offer a 'broad, bilingual format' of current and classic
hits for 25-54 year olds, along with local news, sport and
community information. Champion FM can be contacted at:

Former Radio 1 presenter Paul Gambaccini has joined BBC
Radio 2 from April 18th. He will do the American Chart Show on
Saturday Afternoons. Alan Freeman moves to 2:00, Johnny Walker
moves to 3:30 and Paul Gambaccini moves to the 5:30 to 7:00 slot.
Excellent !

Pride FM. Greater Manchester

RSL station Pride FM in Middleton, Greater Manchester is
back on air again for a 28 day broadcast on 87.7 Mhz.

(Alan Gale, British DX Club)

Southall: 5840 Sunrise Radio has been logged
here on Merseyside at 1900on 22/03 and 1930 on 23/03 with a
steady signal, following reports from Dave Kenny and Ray Woodward
from the British DX Club via Email:

Dave Kenny Reports: Sunrise Radio were testing
via Deutsche Telekom (ie Juelich) on 5880 and 6190 for two days
only - 17th and 18th March. The tests were supposed to be from
1500-2000, but appear to have been extended. No further tests
planned at present. If anyone managed to catch the tests, I guess
reception reports could be sent to the usual Sunrise Radio
address: Sunrise House, Sunrise Road, Southall UB2 4AU, UK

(Dave Kenny, British Dx Club)

Ray Woodward reports: Sunrise Radio booming in
right now on 5840 kHz (1525 UTC on Sunday). It is in parallel
with mediumwave 1548 but with a satellite delay on the shortwave
signal. The Germans are taking the Astra [analogue] feed of
Sunrise - as used by \par RSL operators for an IRN feed (hence
the 1 second audio break either side of IRN news).

(Ray Woodward, British DX Club)

BBC World Service Ditching Signature Tune

A short item from edition 310 of 'The Radio Magazine

'The Theme tune of BBC WORLD SERVICE, 'Lilliburlero', is to
be dropped or updated because it is too 'jingoistic'.Head of News
BOB ROBBINS, said: "We're going to make it more
contemporary. It sounds too militaristic and brass bandy
..."

(Via Ray Woodward British Dx Club)

106 FM (Nottingham)To Be Rebranded Century 106 From
Ray Woodward BDXC

From 17 April Nottingham-based radio station 106 FM will be
rebranded by owners Border TV as Century 106. All Border Radio
Holdings' regional stations are to come under the Century Radio
brand. 106 FM: 0115 910 6100

There is a new UK amateur radio band on Long Wave.
135.7 to 137.8 Khz. Permitted modes are Morse,
Telephony, RTTY,data, fax and slow scan TV. (RSGB News)

IRELAND

New weekly RTE relay of Worlds Apart program on foreign aid
was fair Tue March 10 at 2305-2350 via Germany 260d on 9925,
starting with report about Burundi, during one-hour transmission
starting with English news and ending with Gaelic.(Glenn Hauser),
Sites for repeats on Wednesday are:

The Radio Authority has published a revised and
updated version of it's1997 Pocket Book - a guide to commercial
radio stations in the UK. It is available free of charge from :
The Radio Authority Information Office, Holbrook House, Great
Queen Street, London, WC2B 5DG.

Transmitter Documentation Project SW-98 by Ludo Maes has
just been published for the fifth year. This publication lists
short wave transmitters of international broadcasters, their
manufacturer, location, geographical coordinates and installation
dates. This is a very useful reference for the dedicated Short
Wave Dxer. This fifth anniversary colour edition of TDP SW-98 is
available from : TDP, c/o Ludu Maes, Po Box 1, B-2310,
Rijkevorsel, Belgium. Prices 5 pounds sterling, US $10, DM15, or
10 IRC's. More information is available on the website: www.ping.be/tdp

RDS Codes in Europehas just been
published by East And West Radio Club (EAWRC). This 160 page
booklet lists all known RDS codes in Europe. along with PS, PI,
TP/TA, EON, and PTY codes with explanations in English and
German. Price DM19-80, from Peter Cruuse, EAWRC-Radaktion UKW/TV,
C/o Postfach,18 01 23, D-53031 Bonn Germany. (No IRC's)

DIGITAL RADIO UPDATE

DAB Recievers Launched

NEWSTIDE EXCLUSIVE By Steve Conway

Thursday July 9th will see the consumer launch of Digital
Audio Broadcasting (DAB) receivers from Grundig, Kenwood,
Pioneer, and Blaupunkt.

The four manufacturers have teamed up with BBC Digital Radio
for a special launch event at Broadcasting House, where their
products - and prices - will be unveiled.

The DAB receivers will be available in high street dealerships
and other retail outlets a few weeks afterwards.

Although details of price are being kept tightly under wraps
at the moment, it's understood that a basic DAB set will cost not
too much more than an existing top-of-the-range RDS car radio.

The 9th of July will mark a real turning point for the UK
radio industry - finally after years of testing digital
technology will be made available to the general public, and once
the prices are known it will be easier for people who are bidding
to run digital multiplexes to estimate the level of consumer
take-up of DAB.

For news and information on Digital Audio Broadcasting, see
Newstide's DAB Directory site.

The BBC has now installed a total of 16 DAB transmitters, with
five more due on the air by mid October '97. So far transmissions
can be received in the Peterborough, London, Birmingham and
Manchester areas and also along the motorways connecting these
regions. They plan to have a total of 27 transmitters on by the
spring, reaching 60% of the population. (BBC Press Release).
Meanwhile, the Radio Authority has published the draft of
proposed licences for local and national DAB services. The latest
commercial DAB tests are taking place in Glasgow (1-14 Sept.) and
Edinburgh (15 Sept-12 Oct). These trials by Scottish Radio
Holdings will mainly consist of relays of Radios Clyde, Tay and
Forth. (Radio Authority). Despite all the hype about digital
broadcasting, the first DAB receivers aimed at the consumer
market will not be on sale in the shops until early in 1998.
(Radio Sweden Mediascan). The first Digital Audio receivers on
general sale to the public were launched at the Funkausstellung
in Berlin during December. They will cost around ú600, but with
at least 10 companies manufacturing sets, the price is expected
to fall to less than 100 pounds sterling by the year 2000.

Solent Licence

Fourteen applications have been received for the possible four
new licences in the Solent area of Southern England.

They are:

Central Hampshire Radio Ltd. 01264 720275. 'A broadly popular
service, intelligently presented, of tuneful music from the 60s
to the present day, with news, information for Winchester,
Eastleigh and Chandlers Ford..'

Harbour Radio Ltd. 01705 379481. 'A colourful and popular
radio service featuring substantial amounts of news, information
and feature material supported by familiar and high quality music
with wide appeal but particualarly attractive to an audience aged
25-44 living in Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant.'

Hope FM 01202 780396. Part of the Bournemouth YMCA will
provide an entertaining mix of news, information and popular
speech of strong local relevance with a positive (Christian)
message for Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and surrounding
areas.

Max FM Ltd. 01703 222122. A full service radio station for
Southampton. 'Greatest variety of hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s
and today's best new music', combined with truly local news and
information.

The NRG (Bournemouth) Ltd. 01202 474222. 'Rythmic Contemporary
hit radio with a high proportion of dance and soul music for
Poole, Bournemouth and surrounding areas.'

Poole FM (Purbeck Radio Ltd). 01929 422905. A predominately
music based station playing the classic hits from the 60s to
today, with a high level of local news and information to reflect
the lifestyle of the residents of Poole.

Southampton City Radio Ltd. 01703 233774. A proudly
'Southampton centered' service of local news, views, information
and entertainment mixed with mainstream music.

The South's MIX FM (South Dorset Radio Ltd). 01202 777724.
'Young and vibrant music-led radio for Bournemouth and Poole,
with a commitment to comprehensive news, information and
interactive features.

Splash! FM (Radio Southampton Ltd). 01703 814928. A quality
inforamtion station with great music for all the family, for
Southampton, Eastleigh and the Waterside.

V107 (Vanguard Radio Ltd). 01703 631973. 'A local station
playing familiar hits from the past 35 years and current chart
songs of adult appeal, together with the local news and
information which will make V107 an esential part of life in
Havant.'

Verwood Radio (Mr Stephen Saville). 01202 787740. 'A truly
local station providing a sophisticated classic soft rock music
format and substantial free airtime access to all areas of the
local community of Verwood.

Victory FM Ltd. 01705 358853. A full service radio station for
Greater Portsmouth. Broad mix of easy listening and popular
music, with programmes catering for specialist music tastes.

Voyager FM Ltd. 01489 570779. A lively, broad appeal service
of popular music and speech with a wide range of community
information by day and a music led youth service every evening
for Southampton and Eastleigh.

WIN 107 FM (Winchester Independent Radio Ltd). 01962 626400. A
strong mix of local news,information and popular music for
Winchester and surrounding area.

The Authority hopes to award the licences towards the end of
the year.

Public Interest Test For NE Manchester Licence

107.1 BFM Ltd who have applied for the N/E Manchester SALLIE
licnece currently being offered by the Authority are to be
subject to a public interest test, due to BFM being owned by
Independent Radio Group who also have two other FM stations in
the vicinity.

Under the provisions of the 1996 Broadcasting Act no company
can own three overlapping services unless the proposed
arrangement can be shown not to be acting against the public
interest.